|
Hola! Today was a bittersweet day being our last full day in Peru. We are very sad to leave this beautiful place with equally beautiful people, but also excited to see our families again. It’s seems like yesterday we were all meeting at the airport and saying our goodbyes. Today, we (Abby & Kelly) woke up around 7:30 and had a breakfast of pan y fruta before meeting up at Adela’s. My group (Kelly) which has worked at the clinic getting trained in Wilderness first aid got a chance to test out or new skills in a different setting. We took a scenic bus ride (although a bit scary sometimes) to an indigenous village and met with a kind woman there. Then we got in groups and made up scenarios of emergency medical situations. We then treated the “injuries”. Shout out to Amelia for fixing my “broken arm” with a splint and stopping my “stomach bleeding”, then transporting me to the “nearest hospital”. After our scenarios we sat around the table of Bertha, drinking fresh muña tea, eating chicas from her garden and talked about (ironically) our favorite fast foods. On the ride back we stopped to take a short, steep hike to a beautiful view. Hola, soy Abby! Today I visited a local school called Kuska for the third time with 5 other girls. We all volunteered in different ways, but Rose and I helped Señor Martinez build a sunroof, organized work gloves, played with kids and helped make a wooden plaque that showed Georgetown Visitation volunteered at the school. Others helped make glasses out of old Inca cola bottles and made an organizer for inside the school. After lunch we are doing leadership activities and going shopping in the town and markets. Then we will end the night with storytelling and our final dinner and goodbyes with our home stay families. Adios, Kelly y Abby 😃
0 Comments
June 30, 2019
Hey all! Today we participated in a program called “Walking Together" where we spent the day with our home stay families. Both of us woke up at 9:30, played games of UNO with Alva and Jose then ate another delicious meal of pasta, tomatoes and beef for an early lunch. We all met at Adela’s house around 12:30 and walked to see our food being prepared (pachamanka) in an Incan oven for our feast later. With all our home stay families at the Full Moon Lodge, we celebrated our time together with the pachamanka. We feasted on chicken, pork, peas, different types of potatoes, please empanadas and guinea pig, a Peruvian favorite. As a group we went to a nearby soccer field and played soccer with some locals. Tomorrow, we are all either serving at the clinic or the school and participating in our last AMPing and ANCHOR sessions. Carla and Amelia Greetings from Adela’s Casa! We have yet another jam packed day in Ollantaytambo! The girls spent their morning with their home stay families to see the typical life of a family in Ollantaytambo. We then gathered to watch a local family to watch them prepare a Pace Mama meal. I would say that it is more like a feast. Adela told us they usual only do these for major celebrations, weddings and large gatherings. This meal is made in the earth. We had a major gathering with our home stay families and ate chicken, pork, guinea pig (an option), corn, potatoes ( many different types). Prior to eating we all made a circle not only to say a blessing but also to show gratitude for each other. One of our students starts by thanking all the home stay families and a special thanks to her family. She said the entire thing in Spanish. The thankfulness did not end there, as many of our students thanked their Peruvian families in the circle. Then the families shared their gratitude of our girls. It was beautiful. Our girls then said the Direction of Intention in Spanish. An incredible afternoon spent in the Andes. After an incredible meal, we then burned off some of the food with a soccer game with some of the local kids. The joy and laughter that transpired despite language barriers was a site to be seen. We finished the evening as we have every evening with reflections. Tomorrow brings us to our last day. We have a busy day ahead. A thank you to the parent that kindly told us the blogs weren’t posted correctly. Your girls have been very busy and open to life in Ollantaytambo. Look for a least one more blog post after tomorrow’s adventures. Buenas noches! Ms. Stacy & Senor Martinez  Hello family and friends of the Georgetown Visitation program in Peru! The group is having a wonderful time and greatly enjoyed their visit to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, wifi has been spotty so they haven't been able to update the blog over the past two days. They will update it ASAP. Please don't hesitate to call with any questions - 303-679-3412. Thank you for your trust and support. Erin Hawk Executive Director   Hola! Greetings from Machu Picchu! Today we got up early to board a train to Machu Picchu. As we are now winding down from the day, we’re currently reflecting about our blessings on the train ride home. We had Coca-cola today (with real sugar) on the train ride after having homemade egg sausage sandwiches and freshly squeezed orange juice with Juana and Raul ( our home stay parents). After the train we took a bus to Machu Picchu and met up with Elliot, our tour guide. Elliot showed us the hidden secrets of Peru. We hiked Incan trails and we we stunned by the beauty! We ate lunch under a group of trees where Elliot told us about the intelligence of the Incans. We met a group of llamas for selfies and hugs! We finished the day by reflecting as a group on a patch of land in Machu Picchu. as we left we got to stamp our passports with a Machu Picchu stamp and we got to shop in the area. Wish you all were here! XOXO, Tatsie, Catherine, and Frances   Hola Familia! Today we woke up bright and early and met our home stay families. All the families are located in town or by the plaza, our main meeting point. Our home is in the old town and is in the Inca tradition. After getting settled into our new homes, we traveled to a local school that focuses on a holistic approach of learning for kids 3-10. After learning about the education system at the school, we played with the children in games such as soccer & racing each other & even tag! We returned to our home stays at lunch to enjoy our first meal with our families. After lunch, as a group we traveled to the Sacred Valley Health Clinic where we learned about public health and preventive services for people in the Sacred Valley. The people that they serve are in the towns and in the tiny mountain villages high on the mountains. We engaged in team building exercises as well as a game where we evaluated privilege. THEN, we had a surprise visit to the Choco Museo where we made our own chocolates as well as the process to making chocolate. After making our own hot chocolate and chocolate tea and consuming it, we did a team exercise where we evaluated our day. We then returned home to our families, ate dinner and played games. (Uno is very popular) Hasta Luego! Rose & Patricia   Greetings from Ollantaytambo! After a long day of travel, we have finally settled in the beautiful country of Peru! This morning we all woke up at 8:15 and started the day off with a nice breakfast (Peruvian food is awesome!). After, we prepared ourselves to hike to the Sun Temple, which is not a long way from our hotel. Our tour guide, Monica, taught us much about the Incas and how they utilized the little resources they had to build such a beautiful place. We learned two Phrases from the Inca’s indigenous language of Quechua , “Sulpauki” which means Thank You, and “Allyllanchu” means How are you?. After we finished hiking, we sat in a grassy area surrounded by mountains and reflected on what we had just seen and learned. Shortly after we walked to a restaurant, Apu Veronica, where we had a nice burrito lunch with a dessert of chocolate cake. Another activity of the day involved opening up to Peruvian culture. We were lucky enough to participate in Despacho,a common ceremony practiced by Peruvians to give thanks to Mother Nature and offer intentions and blessings. The ceremony was concluded by embracing their traditional music and each other with friendly hugs. We look forward to another tasty meal tonight and a scavenger hunt to familiarize ourselves with the city. Adios!
- Bridie, Claire, and Caroline - (P.S) Happy late birthday Nana with love from Caroline Greetings from Ollantayambo! Today we started our day( bright and early) with some delicious leftovers of pasta, chicken, tomatoes and onions for breakfast. Around 8:40, we made our way to las casa de Adela to get assigned our NGO service assignments and to fill our water bottles. Everyone had the options volunteering at a school or health clinic. Both of us chose the clinic and spent the day being trained in Wilderness First Aid. We learned everything to treat broken femurs with limited resources to make stretchers from rope and tarps. The people at the school recycled books and papers, played with children and tried a bit of carpentry: which Señor really enjoyed. After lunch at our home stay families, we played a fun game to learn the town’s geography. We fed guinea pigs, hand washed clothes, chucked corn, danced and some even played soccer with Incas! All of us are going to have a good nights sleep to be ready for Machu Picchu. Amelia & Carla  |
RSS Feed
